Union members at P&C stores in Syracuse to be briefed on options; Penn Traffic may set an asking price for chain

Dennis Nett/The Post-Standard Beverly Jenkins of Kirkville picks out of a bunch of bananas in the produce section of the Fayetteville P&C in April.

As uncertainty swirls through the lives of thousands employed by bankrupt The Penn Traffic Co., one of the unions tied to the company is briefing union team leaders on what it knows so far — and what the options may be.

United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1, based in Oriskany, is meeting Thursday and Friday with union stewards, who will then be charged with briefing union employees who work in Syracuse-based Penn Traffic’s 79 supermarkets.

There’s not a lot new to say about the fate of the chain, said Gregory Gorea of UFCW Local 1, which represents nearly 3,800 Penn Traffic employees.

“It’s tight as a drum at corporate headquarters,” Gorea said. “I’ve been going over there for 20 years. It used to be a bustling place. Now, there’s nothing.”

Penn Traffic, whose corporate headquarters is in Geddes, isn’t saying anything as it winds through Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in Wilmington, Del., where its case is being heard.

What stewards will learn Thursday and Friday is what union employees’ options are as the bankruptcy case proceeds and Penn Traffic starts making moves with its stores. The company said this bankruptcy, the third in 10 years, will be the final one. Its goal is to sell all of its stores and warehouses.

So far, no bidders have officially stepped forward, though store chains and independents have been kicking the tires of some of the properties.

The UFCW has been working to find buyers for Penn Traffic, too.

“We are working day and night to find someone who going to buy these stores as a whole, and not chop them up,” Gorea said. “Obviously, some of the stores aren’t profitable, that goes without saying, even after all the closings. So there will likely be some stores that do close.”

Gorea said the union’s international has been speaking with every chain where it has union workers, to get them to make a bid.

“We (also) have independents that want to buy one or two stores,” said Gorea.

According to court papers, Penn Traffic today will likely go to court Thursday and get an asking price for the whole company, then take bids from there. The company has said it wants to be rid of its assets by the end of the month and close on the sale by early January. It filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 18 and plans to cease operations in February.

At meetings Thursday in Oriskany and Friday in Jamestown, UCFW Local 1 stewards will be informed about options with the pension fund, accrued vacation time, extending health benefits, possible job retraining offered by New York state and more, Gorea said. Those stewards will then take that information to the employees in the stores where they work.

Gorea said going forward, the union should be more informed about what Penn Traffic is considering. The union is now part of the court-appointed creditors’ committee, and should be briefed more routinely, Gorea said.

“All we hear right now is total speculation,” Gorea said. “There are a million stories out there. But you can’t blame the people who work for P&C for what’s going on.”